Baby Game of the Week: Top That, Kid!

This is the cutest game EVER! 

And it is really fun because it works!

Directions:

Since babies love to imitate things, make a silly sound and then nod at your baby encouraging them to make the sound as well! Nico loves this game and he is getting really good! 

This is a video of us playing. 

My editing skills are not that great, but you'll get the idea!

College For FREE..... in Germany!

 I bet a lot of you got excited when you read the first half of that heading! Of course upon reading the rest of the heading, you were disappointed fairly quickly, unless you live in Germany! As if they didn't already give us a reason to love them by introducing Oktoberfest to the world, now they have completely abolished University tuition fees. That's right! 100 percent free, for local and international students! No full-ride scholarship required!

 

College prices were already considerably lower than the outrageous prices in the United States,($1,200 vs $25,000 - $60,000) but students were still upset. They, much like myself, believe that if their country was going to prosper, everyone should have the right to a higher education.

The accumulation of knowledge leads to improved problem solving skills, higher tolerance for personal differences, improved decision making skills, and higher paying jobs for anyone who is willing to put in the work. It would also encourage high students to graduate because they would have the realistic hope of being able to receive a higher education. Studies show that people who have been to college have higher self esteem, self respect, and self value. 

My only question now is, when is this going to happen in the United States? When are we going to decide that no one should be able to put a price on education? 

No one should be turned away from the opportunity for a better life simply because they cannot afford it. 

When is the United States of America going to realize that people are worth more than money?

3 Tips to Keep Baby and Yourself Flu Free!

Its that wonderful time of year again; cold and flu season! The runny noses and cranky toddlers lets us know that winter is on its way. With so many on her little friends sick at church, day care, preschool, etc. it seems impossible to keep your little one from coughing this season. These simple little tips will keep you out of the medicine isle this holiday season. 

1. Wash their hands and yours whenever you get home. Little kids LOVE water. They love to play in it and jump in it and swim in it, the only thing they might not like about water is taking a bath! Transform their love of all thing aqua in to a healthy habit! As soon as you get home from wherever, take your little one in to the bathroom and thoroughly wash your hands together. This prevents the spreading of germs from the outside, and contaminating your personal space. Try not to have too much fun, water fights are common! 

2. A table spoon of honey with cinnamon on top at bed time. Not only is this a sweet treat your kid will actually look forward to, honey is one of the most power natural medicines. Cinnamon's essential oils and honey's enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide qualify the two "anti-microbial" foods with the ability to help stop the growth of bacteria as well as fungi. Read more about it here!

3. Eat more fruit! Fresh fruit contain naturally high amounts of vitamin C and they are tasty! Try having fresh fruit salads with yogurt for breakfast and dessert. For snack, peel an orange together, or  cut up a yummy cantaloupe! Who says melon is only for the summer?!

Spend more time cuddled by the fire with a good book this year, and less time blowing noses!

Recipe of the Week: Pasta with Sausage and Peppers!

Bow Tie Pasta with Sausage and Sweet Peppers

This is an easy dinner the whole family will love! 

A good trick for getting a picky toddler to eat his colorful peppers is to play a game!

 Get him to eat all of the red ones in a certain amount of time and give him a treat every time he wins, continue with all of the veggies until they are all gone! A lot of the times kids just need positive reinforcement.

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 green bell peppers, chopped

8 ounces farfalle pasta

1/2 cup beef broth

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

 

 Directions:

 

 Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. 
While pasta is cooking, cook sausage and peppers in large skillet over medium heat until sausage is brown and juices run clear. Drain sausage mixture and return it to the pan. Pour in the broth, season with black pepper and bring to a boil.

Toss pasta with sausage sauce and serve.

 

Mommy & Me Mondays!

I've been waiting for this all weekend!

Happy M&M Mondays! 

What "They" Don't Want YOU to Know

Today's pop culture has a problem of perspective. The world is trying to convince us to live for ourselves. Messages like "Do what makes you happy." Are accepted and shared and encouraged over and over again. 

But what happens when "what make you happy" is destructive to yourself or others? What if you like to cut yourself? What if you like to shoot BB pellets at animals?
If the message is, "do what makes you happy" then what makes those things wrong? Who then gets to decide what is acceptable and what is not?

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians shows us that the Corinthian society had the same problem. (Follow the link to find out what made Corinth like us) 

They were all about gaining knowledge and wisdom, but they were not focusing on the right kind of philosophy. They had no idea how to fulfill their needs, so they looked for pleasure in all the wrong places. In 1 Corinthians 2:8 we see that even most leaders of the ancient world were lost.

If you continue reading 1 Corinthians 2 you will find the key to the fulfillment that we have all been looking for. The greatest thing about God is not heaven or all of the blessing that he can give you. It is the fact that he chose to reveal himself through Jesus. He could have left us to our sin. If he had this world would be a much darker place. But because he didn't, ALL things work together for good. 

Even things that we don't/can't/won't understand. 

We can see evidence of Him and his love for all livings things all around us through nature and we can see examples of His greatness and power through the Universe and laws of science.

The fact is that God wants all of us to know Him like He knows us. He wants us to accept the gift of salvation and be filled spiritually. 

He wants us all to experience the peace and rest that we can ONLY find through Jesus. 

Because He loves us, He gave us free will. He wants us to come to Him because we want to out of love, not because we have to. He gave each and every person on Earth the freedom to make a choice.

Now that you know the truth, what will you do about it?

Published Book Monthiversary!

One month ago I published my very first book, Liars Like Me!

 

Today, I am celebrating that amazing accomplishment by having a 67 percent off sale during the entire week!

For those of you who are mathematically challenged, like myself, that means that Liars Like Me will be on sale for only 0.99 cents! 

I am doing this as a thank you to all the people who have supported me this month, and who have turned The Kul Mom in to what is it today! 

I hope that you can benefit from the sale, and more than anything, I hope you enjoy the book!

To read a special excerpt visit the page entitled "My Book" located next to the Home tab or follow this link: http://kulmom.blogspot.com/p/my-book.html

Also don't forget to show your support and help raise awareness for Liars Like Me by visiting ThunderClap!

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/17111-the-kul-mom-liars-like-me?locale=en